1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a conductive fiber connecting method and structure. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of electrically connecting a conductive fiber in fabric to an external device, as well as the structure of the fabric containing the conductive fiber that is connected to an external device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-50282 (JP-A-2003-50282), for example, describes a vehicle seat to which this kind of connecting method is applied. With the technology described in JP-A-2003-50282, a substrate on which a plurality of conductive wires as conductive fibers are arranged is provided on a seat cushion and/or a seat back of a vehicle seat. The ends of the conductive wires are connected to a capacitance detector, which is an external device, via wiring connections. Accordingly, it is possible to determine whether an occupant is seated in a vehicle seat by detecting the capacitance between conductive wires. This makes it possible to perform control to not activate an air bag corresponding to a vehicle seat in which an occupant is not seated, if the vehicle is involved in an accident, for example.
However, according to JP-A-2003-50282, when connecting the plurality of wires to the capacitance detector, the wiring from each conductive wire is connected separately to the capacitance detector, which makes the electrical wiring between the plurality of conductive wires and the capacitance detector complicated.